


Urban Jungle

by Macdadivali



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild
Genre: All the races stay the same, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Computer Viruses, Gen, Link is already done with everything, Mild Language, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Sheikah Tech, Will follow plot of game, Zelda is actually going to be doing stuff, and he hasn't even started yet, hey I fixed the shitty summary so it doesn't suck as much!, maybe more than mild... we'll see, or as we go forth, other computer stuff wheee..., platonic zelink - Freeform, sketchy motels, the Shittiest Monday Ever, there are gonna be some differences though not gonna lie, when I remember
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-19
Updated: 2018-01-07
Packaged: 2018-12-31 12:55:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,953
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12132951
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Macdadivali/pseuds/Macdadivali
Summary: When the Sheikah Technologies unveiling of the GUARDIAN project is corrupted by a virus called the “Calamity”, what was once going to be a bringer of peace turns into a denizen of death. As destruction reigns over Hyrule, it’s up to Link and the heir of Sheikah Tech, Zelda, to put an end to this malevolent force and the perpetrator behind all of this.Otherwise, Hyrule may just fall back into the dark ages…(Or: The modern BotW AU no one asked for)





	1. Alternative Uses for Bedsheets

**Author's Note:**

> Ok so I'm a bit excited/nervous about this fic. It'll either go down really well or really, REALLY bad.  
> I know that doesn't instill any confidence to read past this, but I'm going to be real about this.  
> Yes, I know the summary sucks right now. I'll change it if I remember what I was going to put in the first place.
> 
> I know I was going to say more stuff here, but my goldfish brain forgot...
> 
> I'm only gonna say this once: I do not own The Legend of Zelda.  
> (I mean if I did, why the heck would I be writing fanfics for it?)

He woke up naked in a motel bathtub with no idea how he got there.

This is just the simplified version of what happened, but no amount of sugarcoating could make it sound better than sketchy at best. It also doesn’t help that he doesn’t have any details add to this. With that being said-     

Link had no idea what happened, and he was kind of freaking out.

Everything started when he was awoken by the rhythmic chiming of an alarm. Right away this set off warning bells in his head, for he doesn’t use alarms. Ever. They are evil’s incarnate.

When he went to shut the damn thing up, he came to the realization that he was half-submerged in water (at least what he hoped was water). Also to the fact he was naked.

It took a decent amount of willpower to not start screaming.

_What the heck happened?_ He thought frantically.

Now even more alarmed and disoriented, he went to sit up and get a better look at his surroundings. However this plan was cut short as a stabbing wave of pain spread throughout his torso when he shifted.

Glancing down, he realized that his torso was practically mummified with bandages, and his chest was barely visible. In some places, red was blossoming out and staining the wrapping.

_Well this can’t be good_.

With that thought, he hastened his efforts to get out of the tub while trying to ignore the aches and pains clawing for his attention. After a bit of scooching and hefting himself up with the shower curtain, Link was able to sit himself up on the side of the tub and get out. Of course, only now that he was out of the water did he realize just how cold he was.

_Okay, where is a towel?_

Shivering, he looked around the bathroom for something to dry off with and noticed it was just as clean and upkept as the tub he had been residing in. Which, by the way, was not very.

The small bathroom was a complete and utter disaster to put it lightly. What was probably once wallpaper was now peeling off the walls like onion skin leaving drywall exposed in some areas. A decent bit of mold seemed to make itself at home on parts of the walls and there were water stains on the ceiling.  The mirror above the sink was cracked in a way it fractured like a spider web. The light fixture mounted above the mirror once contained three lightbulbs; however, two were shattered and the only working one was flickering in a strobing manner. The singular bulb illuminated the heavily stained linoleum tile floor, which was littered with several balled-up towels and empty glass and plastic bottles he couldn’t identify.

A harsh shiver broke through his observations and reminded him of his saturated state. He reached for one of the towels on the ground near him - only to drop it when he noticed the huge maroon stain on it.

_Oh my goddess that’s blood!_ With that realization, he had to fight the nausea that was churning his stomach.

Not trusting the other towels on the floor, he looked around to see if there were any clean towels. Well, at least one that wasn’t on the floor and bloody.

It only took him a second to spot one on a mounted metal rack above the toilet. With his target in sight, he made his way to it.

Legs shaking, he stumbled into the wall and desperately clawed above him to reach the towel. When his hand touched cloth, he yanked it down to see that he had successfully gotten the towel, and was quick to dry himself off and fasten the towel around his waist. (Just because he was alone in didn’t make his state of undress feel any less awkward.)

As he fixed that problem, his legs started wobble with fatigue, and he practically collapsed on the closed toilet seat.

_When did I get so weak?_

While trying to get his stamina back he absent mindedly reached for one of the glass bottles on the floor to see what they were. The word “vodka” stared boldly back at him.

_I don’t feel drunk…_ He mused staring at the label as if it would give him the answer.

It didn’t.

After waiting a few minutes for his legs to no longer feel like overcooked noodles, he stood up and made for the doorway of the bathroom.

Only to be startled half to death by the damn alarm that roused him in the first place.

The noise was coming from an odd-looking cellphone. It was primarily black with orange and tan accents and a glowing blue eye with a solid teardrop drooping from it. Reaching for it, Link turned to look at the screen to see if he could silence the noise assaulting his ears.

As he touched the screen, an eye symbol like the one on the back lit up blue on the dark screen. Not knowing what else to do, he poked the center of the eye. This seemed to unlock the phone, and he was now able to cancel the alarm. The alarm had apparently been set for 6:00am, and the time on the phone now read 6:20am.

He was about to put the phone down and continue on his way, but caught sight of something that gave him pause and a slight chill down his spine.

On the broken mirror was something written boldly and underlined in pink.

** Call 221-1986 ASAP!!! **

It didn’t seem possible, yet somehow everything just continued to get even more bizarre. The fact that he couldn’t even recall how he got here didn’t help this at all.

_Ugh, think damn it!_

Yet no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t remember anything that would have led to his current predicament. All his efforts got him was a headache and more confusion.

_Okay, this isn’t working. Let’s go through what I do know._

Without much strain at all, he could remember basic stuff about himself. His name was Link, he was seventeen, his favorite color is blue, and other random bits of information and memories.

But acute things like where he was, how he got here, and why he was here- that he had no idea.

_What the fuck happened!?_ He mentally screamed.

The more he dwelled on this the heavier the air in the room became. It was suddenly getting very hard to breath.

He tried to take deep breaths, but he just couldn’t seem to get any air. His mind felt cloudy and his head (ironically) like it was underwater.

He felt like he was drowning.

As the floor started to sway beneath him, he grabbed onto the door frame and gradually lowered himself to the floor. The trembling wracking his frame now wasn’t due to the cold.

A hysterical laugh started to bubble from his bandaged chest, and his face felt wet. Reaching up to get the water he apparently missed, he noticed that the water seemed to be coming from his face.

_Oh fantastic, I’m crying now._

He proceeded to laugh/cry a bit more.

As this went on, his head started to hurt. Using the heels of his palms, he rubbed his eyes trying to will the waterworks away. While doing this, he took deep breaths to try and stop his hysterics.

After he was able to calm himself down a bit, a wave of fatigue hit him and he slumped against the doorframe. He wanted to do nothing more than just go to sleep and when he wakes up, this all just have been a horrible dream.

Glancing to his right, he looked in the next room and renewed his efforts to continue into the next room.

Putting an end his little pity-party, Link steeled his nerves and pushed on.

 

* * *

 

Like its adjoining bathroom, the motel room was in a state of complete and utter disrepair. The two twin beds were both stripped of their covers and top sheets and just left with the fitted sheet. Just like the towels, there were dark maroon stains on the beds. A couple of them were clearly handprints, but at this point details like that didn’t really seem to faze him anymore.

Continuing into the room, he sat down on a blood-free spot of the bed. Looking around, he spotted the missing comforters and top sheets between the two beds. One of the sheets was ripped and torn into strips.

_Wait a second…_

With a nagging suspicion, he looked back down at the bandages on his chest. Sure enough, there was the rest of the sheet. Apparently, they were utilized as bandages.

_Oh for the love of Nayru._

It was all so crazy, he had to fight off the urge to laugh hysterically again.

With a weary groan, he leaned forward and cradled his head in his hands. When his elbows touched the towel, he was reminded of his current state of attire.

While it was nice not being completely nude, he couldn’t walk around outside in nothing but a towel and bedsheet bandages. He let out a heavy sigh before getting up to look for some clothes.

He was quick to comb through the room, looking underneath the mound of covers, opening all the drawers, and peaking in the closet. Luckily for him, he was able to find a set of underwear and clothes folded neatly in a drawer, as well as a hoodie along with a pair of sneakers in the closet.

Apparently, whoever left him here was thoughtful enough to spare him the mortification of running around in a towel. Though the clothes were a bit big on him.  He had to roll up the bottoms of his jeans to not step on them, and cuff the sleeves of the hoodie to use his hands.

However, he wasn’t going to complain. Better to not look the gift horse in the mouth.

It was only as he was finishing tying the laces did Link remember the message on the mirror. He cast a glance at the odd phone that was left with him.

Whose number even is that? Should I call whoever it is? What would happen if I didn’t?

After a bit of mental debating, he decided that he would call it later once he had a better idea of what is going on. He then looked for something to make a quick note of the number on. Though, after a bit of digging around, he was able to procure a cheap pen and a faded receipt. He scrawled the number down on the back of the receipt and pocketed it.

With a fair amount of trepidation, he walked over to the door and left the relative safety of the motel room.

 

* * *

 

As he stepped outside, Link was met with the brisk autumn air and the glare of the morning sun. Shielding the harsh light from his eyes, he took a couple steps forward until he reached the paint-chipped metal rail before him.

Leaning out of the covered walkway, he was able to get a better look of where he was.

He was on the second landing of the open box shaped building. All along the visible walls were numbered doors and windows. Several of the windows were destroyed, along with a few doors. It made the building look like a decaying carcass.

The building wrapped around a courtyard like a shell which kept the innards of the quad in a contained chaos. What was probably once an upkept lawn was now overgrown with tall grass and weeds. There were also remains of the rest of the motel to splayed about the yard- like a splintered door, a rotting mattress and other unidentifiable pieces of wreckage.

In addition to the lawn, there was also a paved patio with a pool in the courtyard. All of which was surrounded by a chain-link fence that had been distorted from multiple climbs over it.

A couple pool lounge chairs were surprisingly still set in a neat and organized manner, as if they were waiting to be occupied by pool-goers. Many of the chairs, however, were broken and scattered about haphazardly.

The pool itself had likely been drained once, but rainwater and debris then started to refill it. The water was an opaque green color with dead leaves, branches, and garbage floating along the surface. There was even one of the lounge chairs half-way submerged in the water.

He probably should have felt scared out of his wits seeing that he was left at such a place. But honestly, it was almost too sorry of a sight to feel anything other than pity for the state of disrepair of the establishment.

It somewhat reminded him of his own worn state.

While musing this, he looked back down at the courtyard and cast a quick glance at the polluted pool water. As he did this, Link couldn’t help but think one thing.

_Well, at least I didn’t wake up in that._


	2. Bastardized Hangman

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Link is hungry, and his day gets even shittier.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all for your positive feedback. I'm going to go forth with the story, and thus I present you with chapter 2.

The sound of growling brought him out of his thoughts.

            Startled, he looked around trying to find the source of the rumble. However, he still appeared to be alone.

            _Maybe I’m just hearing things…_

            This thought was quickly discarded as he heard the noise a second time, but he was now able to place what it was.

            _Was that my stomach? Damn, I must be really hungry then._

            With a new objective in mind, he set off to find some food. Though, he was now faced with the problem of where exactly to find food.

            Deciding to start with the lobby, he followed the room numbers in descending order. Eventually, he came to a stairwell, which had a heavily faded sign that was barely discernable. It looked like bastardized game of hangman, and he was only able to make out bits and pieces of it.

            **\--eck- in -n- L-b-y**

**Ro—s 1-6 – 11-**

**-se St—r- i- -a-e of -ire.**

            While he may be uncertain about many things in his life right now, Link is pretty damn sure that the word ‘lobby’ contains the letters L, B and Y. If for some reason he’s wrong, may Nayru have mercy on him.

            With a tight grip on the rail, he took hesitant steps forward down the stairs.

            As he trekked down the stairwell, he absent-mindedly observed the graffiti decorating the walls. Nothing really stood out to him, until he reached the landing of the stairs.

            Staring back at him was the same insignia that was on the back of the odd cellphone that he was left with.

            He blindly searched his pockets for the phone, never once taking his eyes of the image in front of him. His hand was shaking slightly as he held up the phone eye-level to the symbol on the wall.

            It was a perfect match.

            The only thing that made them slightly different, was that the insignia on the wall was all red, while the phone’s was tan with a light-blue iris.     

            He probably would have thrown up if he even had anything even to throw up

            _Holy shit…_

            A chilling sensation trickled down his spine as he pocketed the phone and continued down the next flight of stairs.

            He never once broke eye-contact with the unblinking one on the wall.

 

* * *

                       

            When he reached the end of the stairs, Link continued his search for the lobby. Luckily, he didn’t have to search long, for he quickly noticed a glass door unlike the room doors.

            Seeing as this door was not like the others, there is a pretty good chance this may be the place he has been looking for. With this hunch, he made his way to the door.

            Giving the door handle a slight pull, he was pleasantly surprised to see that it was unlocked. A small shop bell chimed above him as he opened the door. Once he was inside, he let go of the door, which closed with a slam behind him.

            Gazing around the room he just entered, he was happy to confirm his suspicions about the room being the lobby. Although, like everything else he has observed, this room continued the trend of being in a state of disarray. However, it seemed to have almost an organized chaos look to it rather than the previous whirlwind of destruction that was the theme so far.

            The wall with the door he entered was mostly window that looked out at the central courtyard area. The glass continued onto the perpendicular wall, which had a set of double doors as opposed to the single one he entered.

            In the corner that was mostly windows, there were a couple cheap sofas and chair. They were probably once arranged in a manner to accommodate any individuals waiting either to check-in or leave. Now, however, the furniture was squashed in the corner and huddled around a scuffed-up coffee table. Scattered around all of this were empty food wrappers, bottles, cans, cigarette butts, and other litter.

            The only area that seemed somewhat undisturbed was the front desk across from where he stood (likely only due to the fact it is secured to the ground). Any papers, pens, or whatever once occupied the counter was long gone, and a thick layer of dust coated the surface. Oddly enough though, a small silver bell that was likely once used to signal the staff remained untouched and was covered in dust as well.

            Link had to suppress the childish part of him that impulsively wanted to go and ding the bell over and over and over and-

            Shaking his head to remain focused, he turned his attention back to analyzing the room. Looking at the wall behind the front desk he spotted the name for the motel boldly splayed across it.

            The establishment was apparently called the “Great Plateau Motel”, which Link considered somewhat odd considering it didn’t seem to be on a plateau. It was also not so very “great”, given the condition it was in.

            As he walked into the lobby, he nudged food wrappers and crushed cans out of his path. The sight of the wrappers made his empty stomach voice its complaints again.

            _Right, food._

            Continuing his quest, he noticed a door that he had overlooked behind the check-in counter. It had a sign labeled “Employees Only”. However, as there didn’t seem to be any employees to stop him, Link hopped the counter and went to investigate.

            When he tried to turn the handle on the door, it didn’t give and only caused him to rattle the door. It was locked, and with a good one at that.

            _Seriously? Of course, every door with the exception of this one is open._

            Annoyed, he turned and started to rifle through all the drawers and cabinets behind the check-in counter. Aside from random office supplies and some highly questionable old mints, there wasn’t anything edible to be found.

            Groaning in frustration, he climbed back onto the counter, and sat cross-legged on it instead of sliding off to the other side.

            _I swear I would kill for even a corn chip right now_. He brooded.

            However, a faint rumbling noise that was not his stomach broke him out of his wallowing. As it grew louder, he was able to recognize it as the sound of a car engine. One that was getting closer by the second.

            _Shit, shit, shit! What the fuck should I do?!_

            Panicking, he quickly retreated back behind the counter and crouched as low as he could without laying on the ground.  He held his breath as the engine was turned off and he heard the sound of a car door shutting.

            Although he wasn’t able to see or hear anything else, he had a sinking feeling deep in his gut. One that told him that whoever was here, they didn’t just happen upon this place by accident.

            The cheery sound of a bell as a door was opened filled his body with anxiety.

            Fear held his throat in a vice grip, and his heart started pounding so fast he feared it might burst from his chest.

            When he heard the sound of footfalls entering the building, a chill spread through his body and froze the blood in his veins. His body was so rigid, he didn’t think he’d be able to move now if he tried.

            As they approached, the footsteps felt so loud and heavy that everything seemed to quake in their succession. It was hard to tell if it was the ground below him was shaking or if it was solely him who was being rattled.

            Heart thumping faster as the steps came closer, he tried to will it to stop hammering against his sternum so much. It was starting to hurt.

            When the footsteps came to a stop just on the other side of the counter, a sense of dread washed over him like freezing rain. The cold giving him goosebumps and making his hair stand on end.

            It suddenly grew quiet. He forced himself not to make a sound. To not breathe. To make his heart stop beating so loud. He wouldn’t doubt if whoever was in the room could hear it. It was practically roaring in his ears.

            The silence almost gave the illusion that everything was in a stasis. The only thing breaking this illusion being his rapidly beating heart and the blood rushing in his ears.

            For what felt like ages, there was nothing, and he started to wonder if there ever really was someone there. Maybe his weakened body was in worse shape than he thought, and maybe his mind was playing an awful trick on him.     

            Like ice melting, his anxiety started to slowly dissipate. However, this proved to be a major error on his part.

            The shrill sound of a bell shattered the silence, and this time, Link couldn’t stop himself.

            He screamed. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I know a lot didn't really happen this chapter and it was shorter than the first- BUT, it was best cut-off where I did, so then it leads (sort of) smoothly into the next chapter.
> 
> I do not have chapter 3 anywhere near done, and I'm going to have a lot of exams coming up. That being said, I will try my very best to work on it in my down time (I mean, I already beat BotW and all shrines, quests, and the picture thingy, plus have nearly all the armor upgraded to the max. there is not much left to do, besides fork over $20 for the dlc, but that's why Christmas and birthdays are a thing)
> 
> If there are any grammar issues, things are worded weird, or something makes absolutely no sense, please comment and let me know! I also really like to hear your reaction and thoughts to it in general, it makes me warm and fuzzy inside.


	3. *IMPORTANT NOTICE*

So as the title says, this is an important notice.  
I’m going to ease your minds and say I am continuing this story. This is not a cancellation notice, I swore to myself that I wouldn’t voluntarily discontinue a fic. Ever.   
However, I’m likely going to be even sparser in my updates to the story. A big, unexpected, family issue has come up.   
(If you don’t want to read about the issue, that’s fine. Just skip to where you see the * * *)  
So literally less than three days ago, we found out that my grandpa has been diagnosed with Leukemia. We’re not sure which type yet, but my family is already too familiar with this type of cancer considering I had Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) when I was 2. I’m fine, I’ve been in remission for 15+ years, but it’s typically easier to treat this cancer with younger children than adults. As I said, we are not sure what type of Leukemia it is yet, but no type of cancer is ever good.  
* * *  
So, since there is that issue, and the fact I am an active college student and take a full course load, I probably won’t write much. I have been working on my fics, but I had wanted to have a couple chapters done before uploading any new ones (I am impulsive and typically update a chapter not even an hour after I checked it for errors).  
Thank you all for your support and encouragement in my writing, and I hope whenever I update next, it will have been worth the wait!  
(P.S. – Whenever I update the fic next, this author’s note will be gone and replaced with the appropriate chapter.)

**Author's Note:**

> Well, let me know if I should even pursue this fic. I'm gonna be honest, I only have this chapter written, and it was a total bitch to write.  
> Anyway, please tell me what you think, or if you notice an major grammar issues. I wrote and rewrote this so many times the words started to blur together at the end.
> 
> EDIT 9/20: To all of you who still decided to read this fic with the awful original summary, I applaud you for your courage. Virtual fist-bumps all around.


End file.
